2026 NC Senate Race

[rodoheel]

I realize 1984 was a red wave.

Jim Hunt was supposedly a lock to beat Jesse in 1984.

I’ll believe Roy Cooper is a lock in 2026 when he’s sworn into office.

No one should be calling Cooper a lock, that's for sure. I think he's ahead in the race, has a lot of advantages, and would likely win if the election was tomorrow. But we can't easily predict what the political and electoral landscape will look like, locally and nationally, in November.

 

[UNCMSinLS]

No one should be calling Cooper a lock, that's for sure. I think he's ahead in the race, has a lot of advantages, and would likely win if the election was tomorrow. But we can't easily predict what the political and electoral landscape will look like, locally and nationally, in November.

Whatever the circumstances, be sure to ...

 

[nycfan]

I realize 1984 was a red wave.

Jim Hunt was supposedly a lock to beat Jesse in 1984.

I’ll believe Roy Cooper is a lock in 2026 when he’s sworn into office.

I volunteered locally for Hunt’s campaign in ‘84. I do not agree that much of anyone seemed to think Hunt was a lock to beat Helms. We certainly thought he SHOULD be a lock to defeat that vile man but that race was understood to be a real war (with terrific headwinds from the top of the ticket - Reagan v Mondale).

Reagan beat Mondale 62% to 38% in NC that year.

Helms beat Jim 52-48%.

It was at the time the most expensive Senate race ever — about $27 million total which would be about $85 million now. That adjusted figure would’ve only been the 9th or 10th most costly Senate race in 2024 but things have changed a lot since 1984. It was an extraordinary amount then. And Helms outspent Hint by millions.

Anyway, that was never considered a slam dunk win for Hunt, but it was considered a threat to Helms.

But I agree that Dems should not be complacent about Cooper.

 

[nycfan]

I volunteered locally for Hunt’s campaign in ‘84. I do not agree that much of anyone seemed to think Hunt was a lock to beat Helms. We certainly thought he SHOULD be a lock to defeat that vile man but that race was understood to be a real war (with terrific headwinds from the top of the ticket - Reagan v Mondale).

Reagan beat Mondale 62% to 38% in NC that year.

Helms beat Jim 52-48%.

It was at the time the most expensive Senate race ever — about $27 million total which would be about $85 million now. That adjusted figure would’ve only been the 9th or 10th most costly Senate race in 2024 but things have changed a lot since 1984. It was an extraordinary amount then. And Helms outspent Hint by millions.

Anyway, that was never considered a slam dunk win for Hunt, but it was considered a threat to Helms.

But I agree that Dems should not be complacent about Cooper.

But to your point, several years before the election, during the nadir of Reagan’s popularity and a recession, Hunt looked like a winner:

“… In 1982, Jim Hunt was leading the polls with a 14 to 20 point margin. Two years and $25 million later, after an intense and vitriolic media war, Hunt lost by a four point margin.…”

Helms-Hunt Senate Race (D)

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